Nineteen out of 22 countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region, including the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, have ratified the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) treaty. One of FCTC's provisions prohibits tobacco advertisement, promotion and sponsorship (TAPS). The TAPS provision requires nations to ban direct and indirect tobacco ads in media, as exposure to tobacco use in the media encourages smoking initiation. A limited number of studies have examined TAPS in Arabic media. This study examined the occurrence of tobacco use across Arabic television (TV) series released between January 2017 and December 2019 to assess compliance with the FCTC provision banning TAPS. The content analysis examined incidents of tobacco use in Arabic TV series, types of tobacco products used and the portrayal of second-hand smoking exposure. Out of 92 Arabic TV series (2952 episodes), there were 32 044 incidents of tobacco use. Incidents of tobacco use per episode fluctuated over time. During Ramadan, the median number of tobacco incidents declined from 6 in 2017 to 3 in 2019; however, it increased to 8 in 2018. Regular cigarettes and water pipes were the most common tobacco products used in TV series. While 27% of tobacco use showed characters who smoked tobacco products alone, 13% of the incidents portrayed characters who were smoking in the presence of children. This study concludes that tobacco imagery is not completely banned in Arabic media and its continued representation weakens tobacco control measures.


Virtualization enables multiple networks, each customized for a particular purpose, to run concurrently over a shared substrate. One such model for managing these virtual networks is to create a hosting platform where companies can deploy services by leasing a portion of several physical routers. While lowering the barrier for innovation in the network, this model introduces new security concerns. In this paper we examine the issue of accountability in this setting of hosted virtual networks. That is, how a service provider can know its software is running without modification and that the infrastructure provider's physical router is forwarding packets as instructed with the quality of service promised. Rather than presenting a single specification of what every router on the Internet must look like, in this paper we examine two possible approaches: one that detects violations by monitoring the service and one that prevents violations from occurring in the first place. For each, we provide a description of an architecture that can be achieved with technology available today, the limitations of that architecture, and then propose an extension which overcomes the limitations.


Recent cases of aggressive pricing behavior in the biopharmaceutical industry have raised serious concerns among payers and policymakers about industry ethics. However, these cases should not be confused with price increases motivated by challenging business conditions that ultimately lead to greater investment in R&D and improved patient access to therapeutics. We study the example of Questcor Pharmaceuticals, which was forced to choose between increasing the price of an effective drug in 2007 and ceasing production and shutting down. We consider Questcor's journey from inception to its acquisition in 2014, analyze the factors leading up to the price hike of its main revenue generator, Acthar Gel, and discuss its resulting impact on patients after 2007. A counterfactual financial simulation of the company's prospects in the case where prices were not increased shows that Questcor would have become insolvent between 2008–2010.


The purpose of this paper is to show the new directions for reconstruction of the concept of society made possible by another concept – that of hybridity. First we shall argue that in the era of globalisation, the conventional view perceiving society as a self-fulfilling entity is no longer valid. Next, we will critically review the spatial and temporal frameworks, which have served as the basis for the concept of society so far, basing our analysis on the recent theories of space and time. We shall then focus on the concept of hybridity, showing that it can serve as a pivot providing us with the clue for reconstruction of society making the latter valid again. Although 'hybridity' is a term predominantly used in cultural research, here we shall try to look at it from a sociological perspective. We shall demonstrate that 'social hybridity' presents a new way to see society as a complex entity made of various interactions both within and across borders. Lastly, in order to show how this theory can be applied in empirical research, we shall introduce the concept of 'zones of interactivity'. We will show that the 'social hybridity' approach built around a core of the 'zone' concept makes it possible to resurrect 'society' helping us to see the present social change from a completely new perspective.


Virtual reality (VR) headsets provide an immersive, stereoscopic visual experience, but at the cost of blocking users from directly observing their physical environment. Passthrough techniques are intended to address this limitation by leveraging outward-facing cameras to reconstruct the images that would otherwise be seen by the user without the headset. This is inherently a real-time view synthesis challenge, since passthrough cameras cannot be physically co-located with the user's eyes. Existing passthrough techniques suffer from distracting reconstruction artifacts, largely due to the lack of accurate depth information (especially for near-field and disoccluded objects), and also exhibit limited image quality (e.g., being low resolution and monochromatic). In this paper, we propose the first learned passthrough method and assess its performance using a custom VR headset that contains a stereo pair of RGB cameras. Through both simulations and experiments, we demonstrate that our learned passthrough method delivers superior image quality compared to state-of-the-art methods, while meeting strict VR requirements for real-time, perspective-correct stereoscopic view synthesis over a wide field of view for desktop-connected headsets.


A field enquiry mentioned the potential positive impact of a feed restriction on the health of young rabbits, but no objective information relates the intake to digestive health. The effects of a post-weaning feed restriction strategy were thus studied on digestive health and growth and carcass parameters of the growing rabbit, using a monofactorial design that produces a quantitative linear reduction of the intake, from ad libitum (AL group) to 80%, 70% and 60% of AL. The study was performed simultaneously in six experimental sites, on 1984 growing rabbits (496 per treatment) collectively caged from weaning (34 to 38 days of age, depending on the site) to slaughter (68 to 72 days). The feeding programme was applied as followed: restriction during 21 days after weaning, and then ad libitum till slaughter. During the feed restriction period the growth rate was linearly reduced with the restriction level, by 0.5 g/day for each percent of intake reduction. When returning to ad libitum intake (after 54 days old) a compensatory growth and a higher feed efficiency occurred. Therefore, the impact of the feeding programme on the slaughter weight (SW) was significant (-4.5 g/% of restriction), but relatively moderate: the weight loss of the more-restricted rabbits (60%) reached 7.7% (-200 g) compared to the AL group. Over the whole fattening period, the feed restriction reduced linearly and significantly the feed conversion (FC) (-0.0077 unit/% of restriction). Carcass traits were little affected by the feeding programme, except for a slightly lower decrease of the dressing percentage (mean: 1.2 units between AL and the three restricted groups). On the six experimental sites, mortality and morbidity were always caused by acute digestive disorders, namely diarrhoea and/or caecal impaction. Independent of the treatment, the mortality rate strongly varied according to the site (between 7% and 18% from weaning to 54 days and for the AL group). During feed restriction, the mortality was significantly lower from a restriction threshold of 80% (meanly: -9% compared to AL). The morbidity was also significantly reduced (-6%) for the two most restricted groups (70% and 60%). The favourable effect of a lower intake on health did not persist after returning to ad libitum intake (54 days to slaughter), since mortality and morbidity were not significantly different among the treatments. Such a feeding strategy thus represents a double benefit in terms of feed costs and lower losses of young rabbits.


Abstract From millenarian movements to the spread of Hindu rightwing militancy, attacks on adivasi (or tribal) consumption of alcohol have gone hand-in-hand with the project of 'civilizing the savage'. Emphasizing the agency and consciousness of adivasi political mobilization, subaltern studies scholarship has historically depicted adivasis as embracing and propelling these reformist measures, marking them as a challenge to the social structure. This paper examines these claims through an analysis of the relationship between alcohol and the spread of the Maoist insurgency in Jharkhand, Eastern India. Similar to other movements of adivasi political mobilization, an anti-drinking campaign is part of the Maoist spread in adivasi areas. This paper makes an argument for focusing on the internal diversity of adivasi political mobilization—in particular intergenerational and gender conflicts—emphasizing the differentiated social meanings of alcohol consumption (and thus of prohibition), as well as the very different attitudes taken by adivasis towards the Maoist campaign. The paper thus questions the binaries of 'sanskritisation' versus adivasis assertion that are prevalent in subaltern studies scholarship, proposing an engagement with adivasi internal politics that could reveal how adivasi political mobilization contains the penetrations of dominant sanskritic values, limitations to those penetrations and other aspirations, such as the desire for particular notions of modernity.


Silicon- and oxygen-containing hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H:Si:O) coatings are amorphous thin-film materials composed of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H), doped with silicon and oxygen. Compared to a-C:H, a-C:H:Si:O exhibits much lower susceptibility to oxidative degradation and higher thermal stability, making a-C:H:Si:O attractive for many applications. However, the physical mechanisms for this improved behavior are not understood. Here, the thermally induced structural evolution of a-C:H:Si:O was investigated in situ by X-ray photoelectron and absorption spectroscopy, as well as molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The spectroscopy results indicate that upon high vacuum annealing, two thermally activated processes with a Gaussian distribution of activation energies with mean value E and standard deviation σ take place in a-C:H:Si:O: (a) ordering and clustering of sp2 carbon ( E ± σ = 0.22 ± 0.08 eV) and (b) conversion of sp3- to sp2-bonded carbon ( E ± σ = 3.0 ± 1.1 eV). The experimental results are in qualitative agreement with the outcomes of MD simulations performed using a ReaxFF potential. The MD simulations also indicate that the higher thermal stability of a-C:H:Si:O compared to a-C:H (with similar fraction of sp2-bonded carbon and hydrogen content) derives from the significantly lower fraction of strained carbon-carbon sp3 bonds in a-C:H:Si:O compared to a-C:H, which are more likely to break at elevated temperatures.


Background Dickeya dadantii is a broad-host range phytopathogen. D. dadantii 3937 (Ech3937) possesses a type III secretion system (T3SS), a major virulence factor secretion system in many Gram-negative pathogens of plants and animals. In Ech3937, the T3SS is regulated by two major regulatory pathways, HrpX/HrpY-HrpS-HrpL and GacS/GacA-rsmB-RsmA pathways. Although the plant apoplast environment, low pH, low temperature, and absence of complex nitrogen sources in media have been associated with the induction of T3SS genes of phytobacteria, no specific inducer has yet been identified. Methodology/Principal Findings In this work, we identified two novel plant phenolic compounds, o-coumaric acid (OCA) and t-cinnamic acid (TCA), that induced the expression of T3SS genes dspE (a T3SS effector), hrpA (a structural protein of the T3SS pilus), and hrpN (a T3SS harpin) in vitro. Assays by qRT-PCR showed higher amounts of mRNA of hrpL (a T3SS alternative sigma factor) and rsmB (an untranslated regulatory RNA), but not hrpS (a σ54-enhancer binding protein) of Ech3937 when these two plant compounds were supplemented into minimal medium (MM). However, promoter activity assays using flow cytometry showed similar promoter activities of hrpN in rsmB mutant Ech148 grown in MM and MM supplemented with these phenolic compounds. Compared with MM alone, only slightly higher promoter activities of hrpL were observed in bacterial cells grown in MM supplemented with OCA/TCA. Conclusion/Significance The induction of T3SS expression by OCA and TCA is moderated through the rsmB-RsmA pathway. This is the first report of plant phenolic compounds that induce the expression T3SS genes of plant pathogenic bacteria.


A trichobezoar is a ball of swallowed hair that collects in the stomach and fails to pass through the intestines. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy is usually useful for diagnosis and retrieval of a portion of the gastric Trichobezoars but can have complications. Upper airway obstruction may occur during removal of bezoar. This complication may be life threatening. We report the case of a 17-year-old girl who presented with severe anaemia and hypoproteinaemia. During diagnostic upper GI endoscopy, a large piece of hairball compressed the upper airway, leading to cyanosis, respiratory arrest and cardiovascular collapse. The patient was immediately intubated and transferred to the operation room for emergency esophagoscopy. In the operation room, after haemodynamic stabilization the otolaryngologist removed the large piece by esophagoscope. Then the patient was transferred to ICU ward with spontaneous ventilation. The day after, she became stable and conscious.


Excessive renal efferent sympathetic nerve activity contributes to hypertension in many circumstances. Although both hemodynamic and tubular effects likely participate, most evidence supports a major role for &agr;-adrenergic receptors in mediating the direct epithelial stimulation of sodium retention. Recently, it was reported, however, that norepinephrine activates the thiazide-sensitive NaCl cotransporter (NCC) by stimulating &bgr;-adrenergic receptors. Here, we confirmed this effect and developed an acute adrenergic stimulation model to study the signaling cascade. The results show that norepinephrine increases the abundance of phosphorylated NCC rapidly (161% increase), an effect largely dependent on &bgr;-adrenergic receptors. This effect is not mediated by the activation of angiotensin II receptors. We used immunodissected mouse distal convoluted tubule to show that distal convoluted tubule cells are especially enriched for &bgr;1-adrenergic receptors, and that the effects of adrenergic stimulation can occur ex vivo (79% increase), suggesting they are direct. Because the 2 protein kinases, STE20p-related proline- and alanine-rich kinase (encoded by STK39) and oxidative stress–response kinase 1, phosphorylate and activate NCC, we examined their roles in norepinephrine effects. Surprisingly, norepinephrine did not affect STE20p-related proline- and alanine-rich kinase abundance or its localization in the distal convoluted tubule; instead, we observed a striking activation of oxidative stress–response kinase 1. We confirmed that STE20p-related proline- and alanine-rich kinase is not required for NCC activation, using STK39 knockout mice. Together, the data provide strong support for a signaling system involving &bgr;1-receptors in the distal convoluted tubule that activates NCC, at least in part via oxidative stress–response kinase 1. The results have implications about device- and drug-based treatment of hypertension.


Creating a more complete image of our past requires cooperation among many branches of science. A joint effort by archaeologists, anthropologists and historians allowed us to establish the origin and cause of death of four individuals found in a layer dating to the early modern period ina medieval burial ground in the Market Square in Cracow. In the course of interdisciplinary analyses, it was found that the skeletons were the remains of four males aged between 30 and 50, who probably were soldiers of a Swedish garrison occupying Cracow in the mid-17th century. The finding was confirmed by archaeological evidence parts of protective codpieces (Lat.suspensus) and burial stratigraphy typical of this period) and specific changes in the skeletons attribut- able to warfare. At the same time, characteristic traumatic lesions of the cervical vertebrae and traces of bind- ing of the upper and lower limbs indicate that the soldiers had been condemned to death by beheading. Historical sources confirm that Swedish soldiers were executed in Cracow's Market Square in 1657. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This paper will discuss two different techniques to measure mechanical properties of thin film, bulge test and nano-indentation test. In the bulge test, uniform pressure applies to one side of thin film. Measurement of the membrane deflection as a function of the applied pressure allows one to determine the mechanical properties such as the elastic modulus and the residual stress. Nano-indentation measurements are accomplished by pushing the indenter tip into a sample and then withdrawing it, recording the force required as a function of position. . In this study, modified King's model can be used to estimate the mechanical properties of the thin film in order to avoid the effect of substrates. Both techniques can be used to determine Young's modulus or Poisson's ratio, but in both cases knowledge of the other variables is needed. However, the mathematical relationship between the modulus and Poisson's ratio is different for the two experimental techniques. Hence, achieving agreement between the techniques means that the modulus and Poisson's ratio and Young's modulus of thin films can be determined with no a priori knowledge of either.


Introduction: Tumor necrosis factor related-apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a powerful and selective activator of apoptosis in many cancer cells. We aim to investigate the expression and significance of TRAIL death receptor DR4 and DR5 in pancreatic cancer (PC) tissues.
Method: Twenty-eight histologically verified samples of PC tissue were collected between 2018 and 2019. TRAIL death receptor expression profiles were determined by immunohistochemistry.
Result: Death receptor DR4 and DR5 were expressed in the PC tissue and the adjacent non-cancerous pancreatic tissues, the expression of DR4 and DR5 in the PC tissue was significantly higher than that of the adjacent non-cancerous pancreatic tissues (p<0.05). Additionally, in both the tissue group, the expression of DR4 was significantly stronger than the DR5 (p<0.05). To assess the relationship between DR4 and DR5 expression, differentiation, and tumor staging of PC, the result reveals that the expression of DR4 and DR5 was significantly higher in stage I tumors than the stage II, III, IV tumors (p<0.05). In contrast, the expression of DR4 and DR5 was decreased with a decrease in the degree of differentiation of tumors. However, the difference was not statistically significant.
Conclusion: The membrane expression of TRAIL death receptor DR4 and DR5 is greater in PC than in the adjacent non-cancerous pancreatic tissues. Furthermore, increased membrane expression of TRAIL death receptor DR4 and DR5 in stage I PC and well-differentiated PC may predict the prognosis and feasibility of using TRAIL gene therapy as a treatment option for early PC.


In surgery prophylaxis for infection is necessary, because patients are immunocompromised due to the underlying disease and the operation while at the same time being increasingly exposed to potentially pathogenic germs. Prophylaxis is based on the control of endogenous and exogenous microorganisms. For this purpose either systemic or locally active topical agents may be employed. Systemically active substances are applied with the aim to kill and eliminate invasive microorganisms in deep tissue levels, either by their own biological activity or by stimulating specific or unspecific host immune reactions. Local topical measures in contrast are to prevent the primary contact between microorganisms and host. The central pillar of systemic measures is the perioperative systemic antibiotic prophylaxis, immunonutrition is beginning to gain importance, and in the future possibly substances such as G-CSF, which directly stimulate the immune system, may be employed. Standard topical measures are sterilization and desinfection while decontamination of the digestive tract has until now not found a wide spread acceptance. For certain indications especially high risk surgical resections with anastomoses at the level of the oesophagus or the lower rectum it is possible to eliminate endogenous intestinal microorganisms effectively using topical decontamination in combination with systemic antibiotics and improve the surgical results, especially anastomotic healing.


The study and evaluation of quality improvement among Georgia's public health systems continues to be a major priority for the Georgia Public Health Practice Based Research Network (GAPH-PBRN). This article focuses on the application and evaluation of a Quality Improvement project in a Georgia County Health Department. The QI team sought to reduce the waiting time in the teen clinic; thereby, increasing the Quality Improvement culture one project at a time in this Health Department. The project revealed that Quality Improvement is a continuous process that requires change and adaptation by employees. This initial Quality Improvement project was the first step in helping to establish Quality Improvement culture in the County Health Department.


Bones are the fourth area of metastases of malignant tumors that significantly burden the disease reducing the quality of life of a patient as cause pain, threat pathological fracture, deteriorate limb function, and develop hypercalcemia. Treatment of patients should be comprehensive and base on the rational use of systemic therapy and local impacts. The use of bisphosphonates inhibits bone resorption and progression of bone metastases, reduces the risk of complications due to metastatic bone disease including pain. Bisphosphonates significantly reduce the incidence of SRE in patients with bone metastases, diminish the need for analgesic radiotherapy, postpone terms of SRE occurrence, reduce pain syndrome as well as the need for analgetics. They also easily tolerated by patients.


The fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, resulted from a complex pattern of causes, including historical contingencies. One of these was Gunter Schabowski's ill-phrased announcement of free travel for GDR citizens, another Mikhail Gorbachev's access to power in 1985 and his promise of "perestroika". At the core of the matter lies "the German question" as the key issue of controversies, in the early phase of the Cold War. Even after 1955, when the two post-war German states had been integrated into the military blocs, the German question remained on the diplomatic agenda. The erection of the Berlin Wall in 1961, however, signified that the "German problem" had been shelved. After the Cuban crisis in October 1962, when the two superpowers refrained from nuclear confrontation, they appeared to enter into an era of detente.
Facing up to these facts, West Berlin´s Mayor Willy Brandt and, foremost, his adviser Egon Bahr developed their concept of "Ostpolitik". Its long-term perspective was to change the status quo of German division by accepting the status quo, i.e. the consequences of WW II, the Oder-Neisse border to Poland, the reality of the blocs, and the East German state under Communist rule. It was based on the assumption a) that detente was an irreversible process and b) that the GDR, displaying economic stability at that time, while remaining an indispensable element in the Soviet bloc, would be disposed to forms of cooperation.
The dialectics of history proved otherwise. Geopolitical rivalries between the superpowers continued to exist. In 1979, the Soviet Union's military intervention in Afghanistan coincided with its opening another round in the arms race focussing on intermediate-range missiles in Central Europe. Both decisions propitiated the interior crisis of the Soviet Union, due to technological backwardness and military overburdening of its state-run economy. Gorbachev's attempts at reform proved ineffective, his proclamation of glasnost encouraged dissident movements in Eastern Central Europe, e.g. the independent peace movement in the GDR, to resist their regimes. Gorbachev's renunciation of the "Brezhnev doctrine" motivated reform-minded governments in Poland and Hungary to test the limits of Soviet hegemony.
The decisive factor was the comprehensive crisis in the GDR: an unproductive economy based on external debts, a decrepit infrastructure, ecological damage, an oppressive dictatorship rejecting reform, dissident activists challenging the regime. All this, in the autumn of 1989, led to the mass exodus of East Germans fleeing across Hungary's open border to Austria. The upshot of this course of events was the collapse of the Berlin Wall.
Germany's reunification in 1990 entailed the creation of the European Union, an in-between of a confederation and a federal union of states. Its raison d´etre is to a) provide a structure of peace in Europe b) to avert German hegemony on the Continent based on its power potential. Nonetheless, apprehensions concerning Germany's future role in Europe have not altogether vanished. With regard to its immigration policy, some observers speak of a new type of "moral hegemony". Last but not least, Merkel´s decision in 2015 admitting millions of migrants to Europe, tipped the scale in favour of Brexit.


Deep preferential percolation of melt water in snow and firn brings water lower along the vertical profile than a laterally homogeneous wetting front. This widely recognized process is an important source of uncertainty in simulations of subsurface temperature, density and water content in seasonal snow and in firn packs on glaciers and ice sheets. However, observation and quantification of preferential flow is challenging and therefore it is not accounted for by most of the contemporary snow/firn models. Here we use temperature measurements in the accumulation zone of Lomonosovfonna, Svalbard, done in April 2012 – 2015 using multiple thermistor strings to describe the process of water percolation in snow and firn. Effects of water flow through the snow and firn profile are further explored using a coupled surface energy balance - firn model forced by the output of the regional climate model WRF. In situ air temperature, radiation and surface height change measurements are used to constrain the surface energy and mass fluxes. To account for the effects of preferential water flow in snow and firn we test a set of depth-dependent functions allocating a certain fraction of the melt water available at the surface to each snow/firn layer. Experiments are performed for a range of characteristic percolation depths and results indicate a reduction in root mean square difference between the modeled and measured temperature by up to a factor of two compared to the results from the default water infiltration scheme. This illustrates the significance of accounting for preferential water percolation to simulate subsurface conditions. The suggested approach to parameterization of the preferential water flow requires low additional computational cost and can be implemented in layered snow/firn models applied both at local and regional scales, for distributed domains with multiple mesh points.


This study compares the performance of sign detection based on synthetic training data to the performance of detection based on real-world training images. Viola-Jones detectors are created for 4 different traffic signs with both synthetic and real data, and varying numbers of training samples. The detectors are tested and compared. The result is that while others have successfully used synthetic training data in a classification context, it does not seem to be a good solution for detection. Even when the synthetic data covers a large part of the parameter space, it still performs significantly worse than real-world data.


Develop customer-focused, market-driven strategies for today's competitive marketplace. . . Widely regarded as a classic text in the field, Industrial Marketing Strategy, Third Edition shows you, as a practicing manager, how to develop the marketing strategies your business needs to succeed in a rapidly evolving global marketplace. This important book covers: The basic concepts of customer analysis, buying behavior, buyer-seller relationships, market segmentation and targeting, and positioning Proven, concrete, strategic management techniques—rather than a rote enumeration of the functions and institutions of industrial marketing Guidelines for implementing the value proposition through distribution and marketing communications The role of marketing in the broader context of business and corporate-level strategic planning Special sections on product development, national account management, customer service, information technology, and price signaling


An aneurysm is a local dilatation of a vessel wall which is >50% its original diameter. Within the spectrum of cardiovascular diseases, aortic aneurysms are among the most challenging to treat. Most patients present acutely after aneurysm rupture or dissection from a previous asymptomatic condition and are managed by open surgical or endovascular repair. In addition, patients may harbor concurrent disease contraindicating surgical intervention. Collectively, these factors have driven the search for alternative methods of identifying, monitoring and treating aortic aneurisms using less invasive approaches. Non-coding RNA (ncRNAs) are emerging as new fundamental regulators of gene expression. The small microRNAs have opened the field of ncRNAs capturing the attention of basic and clinical scientists for their potential to become new therapeutic targets and clinical biomarkers for aortic aneurysm. More recently, long ncRNAs (lncRNAs) have started to be actively investigated, leading to first exciting reports, which further suggest their important and yet largely unexplored contribution to vascular physiology and disease. This review introduces the different ncRNA types and focus at ncRNA roles in aorta aneurysms. We discuss the potential of therapeutic interventions targeting ncRNAs and we describe the research models allowing for mechanistic studies and clinical translation attempts for controlling aneurysm progression. Furthermore, we discuss the potential role of microRNAs and lncRNAs as clinical biomarkers.


From the Publisher:
Why are David Moore's statistics books so successful? They have become the books to beat because Moore was the first author to present the teaching of statistics as a useful tool in practice. Unlike traditional statistics books, Moore's texts use real data and walk the student through the process of analyzing that data, as opposed to emphasizing formulas, drill-like exercises, and cookbook mathematics. Thus, for the first time, students learn to think like practicing statisticians and to apply what they learn to their lives.
When Moore and McCabe's Introduction to the Practice of Statistic (IPS) became the #1 book in the market about 5 years ago, statistics instructors realized that a shorter, lower-level, less detailed book based on IPS would also succeed. Hence, David Moore envisioned The Basic Practice of Statistics (BPS)—a text that applies the data analysis approach of IPS but is targeted for a one-term course only. BPS has now become the book to beat, being an ideal match for more schools than any other book in the market.
The second edition of The Basic Practice of Statistics builds on the strengths of the first: a balanced and modern approach to data analysis, data production, and inference; and an emphasis on clear explanations of ideas rather than formal mathematics or reliance on recipes. Moore's use of real world data and examples and his emphasis on statistical thinking show students how statistics can be used as a powerful tool for understanding the world we live in. Designed for students with a limited background in mathematics, The Basic Practice of Statistics 2/e is the ideal way to introduce the core concepts of statistics to the students of today and tomorrow.


The purpose of the research is to describe code mixing or billingualisme in communication among students of Al Hikmah Sukoharjo Islamic Boarding School. Daily conversation among students was analyzed as data of the research. This is descriptive qualitative study which use participant observation technique. technique of analysis was used by the researcher before, during, and after research in the field. This technique emphasize several stages namely data collection, data reduction, display data and conclusion. Data collection was obtained in two weeks then classified  into sub category then drawn conclusion. The findings showed that some code mixings were used by students frequently were Javannese, Indonesia and arabic. The findings showed that billingualism wudu consists of  1) word insertion, 2) phrases insertion, 3) clauses insertion, and 4) idiom insertion.The main factor in using billingualism in communication among students is multicultural, education level of speaker and purpose of speech.

Keywords: Code mixing, billingualism and communication


Background. Insulin induced gene 2 (INSIG2) encodes a protein that has a biological effect on regulation of adipocyte metabolism and body weight. This study aimed to investigate the association of INSIG2 gene -102G>A polymorphism with obesity related phenotypes in Chinese children and test gender-specific effects. Methods. The 2,030 independent individuals aged from 7 to 18 years, including 705 obese cases and 1,325 nonobese controls, were recruited from local schools. We measured the obesity-related phenotypes and detected the serum lipids. We genotype -102G>A polymorphism by using the matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Results. In all individuals, we found that the GG/GA genotype of INSIG2 -102G>A polymorphism was associated with risk of severe obesity (OR = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.11–2.36, and P = 0.012) under the dominant model. The association with severe obesity existed only in boys (OR = 1.91, 95% CI: 1.15–3.17, P = 0.012). The GG/GA genotype of -102G>A polymorphism was also associated with higher waist circumference (β = 2.61 cm, P = 0.031) in boys. No similar association was found in girls. The polymorphism was not associated with other obesity-related phenotypes, neither in all individuals nor in gender-specific population. Conclusions. This study identified a gender-specific effect of INSIG2 -102G>A polymorphism on risk of severe obesity and waist circumference in Chinese boys.


Background: The purposes of this study were 1) to establish accelerometer count cutoffs to categorize activity intensity of 3 to 5-y old-children and 2) to evaluate the accelerometer as a measure of children's physical activity in preschool settings. Methods: While wearing an ActiGraph accelerometer, 16 preschool children performed five, 3-min structured activities. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analyses identified count cutoffs for four physical activity intensities. In 9 preschools, 281 children wore an ActiGraph during observations performed by three trained observers (interobserver reliability = 0.91 to 0.98). Results: Separate count cutoffs for 3, 4, and 5-y olds were established. Sensitivity and specificity for the count cutoffs ranged from 86.7% to 100.0% and 66.7% to 100.0%, respectively. ActiGraph counts/15 s were different among all activities (P < 0.05) except the two sitting activities. Correlations between observed and ActiGraph intensity categorizations at the preschools rang...


Background: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disorder affecting large population and a major public health problem .India ranking first in the world for diabetes. Diabetic patients are vulnerable to foot ulcer with polymicrobial infection.

Aims & Objective: Study was aimed to know etiology as well as antibiotic sensitivity that helps clinicians to select appropriate antimicrobial therapy.

Materials and Methods: The study was done from July 2010 to August 2011, in department of Microbiology, Sir T hospital and government medical college, Bhavnagar. 120 patients included from surgery dept. and samples were collected for aerobic and anaerobic culture, further identification was done by microscopy, culture and biochemical reaction. The antibiotic sensitivity testing was performed by Kirby Bauer method of disk diffusion using NCCLS guidelines.

Results: Out of 120 cases, total 150 bacterial species isolated with maximum aerobes (84%) and Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were commonest aerobic bacteria responsible for infection. Out of 24 Anaerobic isolates, 62.5% was Bacteroides species. Gram positive bacteria were sensitive to Vancomycin (100%) and gram negative bacteria were sensitive to Imipenam, Meropenam and Levofloxacin.

Conclusion: The study concludes that diabetic foot ulcer infection is always polymicrobial in nature. There was resistant pattern of aerobic bacteria to cephalosporin group may be due to indiscriminate usage of antibiotics. So, it is mandatory to screen all elder patients for diabetes as well as risk factors. Periodic surveillance is necessary to know multidrug resistant strains of hospital and to apply proper antibiotic policy.


The treatment results of 313 patients in whose operations the Surgitron radioscalpel was used are presented. Authors affirm that the use of radioscalpel in abdominal surgery (e.g. gastrointestinal and interintestinal anastomoses) favors the primary intention healing of the anastomoses, decreases the postoperative complications risk (bleeding, anastomositis, suture-line leaks and death).


Several opinion polls have found that many consumers resist making purchases via the Internet because of their concerns about the privacy of the personal information they provide to Internet merchants. Using the theory of planned behavior as its basis, this study investigated the relationships among beliefs about Internet privacy and trustworthiness, along with beliefs about perceived behavioral control and the expectations of important others, and online purchasing behavior. Data were collected from 193 college students. Analysis of the data indicates that beliefs about trustworthiness positively affect attitudes toward buying online, which in turn positively affect purchasing behavior. Beliefs about self‐efficacy regarding purchasing positively affect perceived behavioral control, which in turn affects online purchasing behavior. In short, respondents who believed in the trustworthiness of the Internet and in their own abilities to buy online were more likely to make Internet purchases than were those without such beliefs.


We propose and demonstrate a novel technique for group delay (GD) characterization of dispersive devices. The proposed technique involves the measurement of the temporal intensity profiles of a dispersed ultrashort optical pulse (i.e., after the device under test) and its first time derivative, which can be obtained by simple linear propagation through an all-fiber optical filter. The GD can be reconstructed using a direct and noniterative algorithm. We present experimental results for the measurement of the GD (including group-delay ripple) of high-dispersion and low-dispersion chirped fiber Bragg gratings.


Treatment of bicyclic lactones derived from Diels-Alder reactions of 3-carbomethoxy-2-pyrone under radical conditions leads to a series of interesting skeletal rearrangements. The stereochemical and optical integrity of the starting material are maintained throughout the process.


The salinity of soil is among the most important abiotic stresses which limit agricultural productivity worldwide. The effects of salinity on growth, nutrient partitioning, chlorophyll, leaf relative water content, osmolytes accumulation and antioxidant compounds of pepper ( Capsicum annuum L.) cultivars ('Granada', 'Goliath' and 'Nobili'), widely used in Cameroon, were investigated. Plants were subjected to four levels of NaCl (0, 50, 100 and 200 mM) at early seedling growth stage of plant development. Application of NaCl treatment led to a significant increase in total  soluble  sugars,  proline; soluble proteins; total free amino acids content, peroxydase and superoxide dismutase activity and total phenolic content in salt-tolerant 'Granada' and 'Nobili' compared to salt-sensitive 'Goliath' and untreated plants, on the contrary, decreased in root dry weight, shoot dry weight, number of leaves, shoot length, stem diameter, total leaf area, chlorophyll and leaf relative water content in 'Goliath' at low salinity level. Flavonoid content, K, Ca and Mg concentrations were significantly reduced with increasing salinity in all cultivars. The highest Na concentrations were detected in the leaves while the lowest were recorded in the roots of 'Goliath' at high salinity level. The salt sensitivity of 'Goliath' seems to be increased osmotic adjustment through the strongly accumulation of Na in leaves while the salt tolerance of 'Granada' was related to its induce of antioxidative enzyme system more efficiently, resulting in higher osmolytes accumulation under salinity. 'Granada' was more tolerant and stable in physiological and biochemical traits suggesting that it could be grown in salt-affected soils.


We are researching the affects that added lemon juice will have on the pH of water and algae growth. This research will help scientists better understand what affects algae growth and how this can influence biofuel production. We added different amounts of lemon juice to find which would be the most affective while keeping a control group to have something to compare. In the bottles with the added lemon juice, we found increased algae growth due to the lower pH levels. This supports the idea that algae will grow more efficiently in water with lower pH levels and helps further research about production of biofuels derived from algae.


The paper examines the price dynamics in the U.S. fiber market using error correction version of Granger causality test. Monthly prices are used to examine short-run and long-run price relationships simultaneously. Before specifying causal equations, time series properties of the prices are tested and are found to be first difference stationary and cointegrated. The causality results suggest weak lead-lag relationship between cotton and polyester prices in either direction. However, strongest relation is instantaneous feedback (within a month) between cotton and polyester prices. It may be interpreted from these results that any shock to the equilibrium relationships is mostly restored within a month. In addition, highly significant error correction terms in cotton and polyester equations also suggest the absence of distinct price leader which means both prices respond to restore equilibrium relationships.


With the new generation Industry 4.0 coming, as well as globalization and outsourcing, products are fabricated by different parties in the distributed manufacturing network and enterprises face the challenge of consistent planning of semi-finished product in each manufacturing process in different geographical locations. The purpose of this paper is to propose a real-time operation planning system in the distributed manufacturing network to intelligently control/plan the manufacturing networks.,The feature of the proposed system is to model and simulate large distributed manufacturing networks to streamline the mechanical and production engineering processes with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, which can keep track of process variants. To deal with concurrency and synchronization, the hierarchical timed colored Petri net (HTCPN) formalism for modeling is selected in this study. This method can help to model graphically and test the discrete events of concurrent operations. Fuzzy inference system can help for knowledge representation, so as to provide knowledge-based decision assistance in distributed manufacturing environment.,In this proposed system, there are two main sub-systems: one is the real-time modeling system, and the other one is intelligent operation planning system. These two systems are not parallel in the whole systems while the intelligent operation planning system should be embedded in any stage of the real-time modeling system as needed. That means real time modeling system provides the holistic structure of the studied distributed manufacturing system and realize real-time data transfer and information exchange. At the same time the embedded intelligent operation planning system fulfill operation plan function.,This new intelligent real-time operation system realizes real-time modeling with RFID-based HTCPN and smart fuzzy engine to fulfill intelligent operation planning which is highly desirable in the environment of Industry 4.0. The new intelligent manufacturing architecture will highly reduce the traditional planning workload and improve the planning results without manual error interference. The new system has been applied in a practical case to demonstrate its feasibility.


In manufacturing industry, Discrete Event Simulation (DES) is applied in just a small fraction of the cases where it could give significant value. The complexity of the DES technology itself is one barrier to achieving its full potential in manufacturing system design. This paper focuses on methodologies which can be used in studying the modelling process, with the specific intent of integrating DES into the engineering design process of manufacturing systems. Ethnographical methodologies are proposed, as they are successfully applied to the analysis of the engineering design process. Observations from industrial practice indicate that visualisation in DES software is essential for the sequential verification of design activities.


• Preoperative consultations are frequently performed; however, little is known about the way requesters respond to the recommendations offered. For this reason, 90 consecutive preoperative consultations, performed by a general medical unit, were reviewed and compared with 66 consecutive nonpreoperative consultations, performed by the same unit during the same period. Analysis disclosed that recommendations made during preoperative consultation were often not followed and were less likely to be followed than were those made during nonpreoperative consultation (53.9% v 68.9%). Controlling for the type of consultative advice offered and for the type of surgical service requesting the consultation did not alter this relationship. These results highlight the particular importance of consultant follow-up for recommendations made during preoperative consultations. ( Arch Intern Med 1983;143:743-744)


Semiarid basins contribute significantly to sediment loads, as they are often characterized by torrential flows, source areas with high sediment-producing rates, great availability of erodible material subjected to intense weathering processes, and poor vegetation cover. Vegetation, despite its scarce presence, is a dynamic component of this environment, which provides a range of important ecosystem services such as biodiversity, flood retention, nutrient sink, erosion control and groundwater recharge. This study examines the vegetation responses to the magnitude of peak flows and its contribution to the changes in runoff and sediment yield during the period 1997-2020 in a catchment Mediterranean semiarid basin: The Rambla de la Azohía (southeastern Spain).Vegetation type, density, preferred location and degree of permanence in each sub-basin were analyzed in order to determine their degree of influence on surface runoff and erosion control. Changes in riparian vegetation cover was quantified at large scale for the analysis period (1997-2020), using remotely sensed spatial information, such as satellite images and aerial photographs separated by two years on average (at scales from 1:15000 to 1:30000, and resolution between 0.22 and 0.50 m/pixel). A geo-spatial erosion prediction model was applied to estimate the runoff and sediment load generated at the event scale, taking into account the variability of the vegetation cover in each sub-basin. The simulated outputs of this model were previously calibrated with water levels measured by pressure sensors and suspended sediment records.The results showed both a poor response of vegetation (low incidence in the runoff coefficient) in steep metamorphic watersheds, capable of supplying large sediment loads, and functioned as an efficient ecosystem service (stabilization of slopes and decrease in peak flow) in less steep sub-basins with slopes in the shadow, composed of limestone formations and alluvial fans. This suggests important spatial differences in the vegetation impact, according to other environmental conditions intrinsic to each sub-basin, but also a low overall influence on the temporal variability of sediment fluxes at the event scale. This research was funded by FEDER/Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities—State Research Agency (AEI)/Projects CGL2017-84625-C2-1-R and CGL2017-84625-C2-2-R; State Program for Research, Development and Innovation Focused on the Challenges of Society.


Phaeochromocytomas can have a variety of presentations; however, traumatic haemorrhage into a phaeochromocytoma is a rare presentation. Diagnosing and managing a critically ill, septic patient with a phaeochromocytoma can be very challenging. We report a case of a 57‐year‐old man, with a previously undiagnosed phaeochromocytoma, who presented initially with bowel perforation following an assault. Following a laparotomy for bowel resection and anastomosis, whilst on the intensive care unit, he developed paroxysmal severe hypertension overlying septic shock. Phaeochromocytoma was confirmed using a computed tomography scan and urinary assay of metanephrines and catecholamines. We managed the haemodynamic instability using labetalol and noradrenaline infusions. As his septic state improved he was started on conventional therapy and following control of his symptoms over the next few weeks, he underwent an uncomplicated right sided adrenalectomy. He made a full recovery.


Abstract Background During ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), high echoic areas due to RFA-induced microbubbles can help calculate the extent of ablation. However, these areas also decrease visualization of target tumors, making it difficult to assess whether they completely cover the tumors. To estimate the effects of RFA more precisely, we used an image fusion system (IFS). Patients and methods We enrolled patients with a single HCC who received RFA with or without the IFS. In the IFS group, we drew a spherical marker along the contour of a target tumor on reference images immediately after administering RFA so that the synchronized spherical marker represented the contour of the target tumor on real-time ultrasound images. When the high echoic area completely covered the marker, we considered the ablation to be complete. We compared outcomes between the IFS and control groups. Results We enrolled 25 patients and 20 controls, and the baseline characteristics were similar between the two groups. The complete ablation rates during the first RFA session were significantly higher in the IFS group compared with those in the control group (88.0% vs. 60.0%, P = 0.041). The number of RFA sessions was significantly smaller in the IFS group compared with that in the control group (1.1 ± 0.3 vs. 1.5 ± 0.7, P = 0.016). Conclusions The study suggested that the IFS enables a more precise estimation of the effects of RFA on HCC, contributing to enhanced treatment efficacy and minimized patient burden.


The purpose of this paper is the presentation of theoretical and partly experimental results of research of the dynamic response of brick masonry wall in closed building structure to gas explosion the period of which is comparable with the natural vibration period of the analyzed wall structure. The paper is based on a theoretical and an experimental analysis of the response of the structure of selected type (geometry) to various types of shock pressure waves produced by the explosion of a gas-air mixture. The typical history of wall response (in the initial phase) of this transition phenomenon is almost identical with the shape of the loading pulse, which can be observed both in displacements and in stresses. After these transition vibrations have subsided the masonry wall vibrates in the mode which represents the superposition of natural modes with the vibration loops near the point of load application and/or with the frequencies approaching the period of load application producing the opening of the first cracks. The analysis presented in the paper is concerned with a rectangular brick masonry structure used for experimental verification of its bearing capacity. The paper derives the principles of the failure of the masonry structure also for this type of relatively long effect of the explosion of gas-air mixtures and relates them to the results of previous experiments with masonry structures loaded by a relatively very short impact wave.


Broader ecosystem management objectives for North Sea demersal fish currently focus on restoring community size structure. However, most policy drivers explicitly concentrate on restoring and conserving biodiversity, and it has not yet been established that simply restoring demersal fish size composition will be sufficient to reverse declines in biodiversity and ensure a generally healthy community. If different aspects of community composition, structure, and function vary independently, then to monitor all aspects of community general health will require application of a suite of metrics. This assumes low redundancy among the metrics used in any such suite and implies that addressing biodiversity issues specifically will require explicit management objectives for particular biodiversity metrics. This issue of metric redundancy is addressed, and 15 metrics covering five main attributes of community composition, structure, and function are applied to groundfish survey data. Factor analysis suggested a new interpretation of the metric information and indicated that a minimum suite of seven metrics was necessary to ensure that all changes in the general health of the North Sea demersal fish community were monitored properly. Covariance among size-based and species-diversity metrics was low, implying that restoration of community size structure would not necessarily reverse declines in species diversity.


BACKGROUND
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a potentially fatal vasculopathy that can develop at any age. Adult-onset disease has previously been associated with mutations in BMPR2 and ALK-1. Presentation in early life may be associated with congenital heart disease but frequently is idiopathic.

METHODS AND RESULTS
We performed mutation analysis in genes encoding receptor members of the transforming growth factor-beta cell-signaling pathway in 18 children (age at presentation <6 years) with PAH. Sixteen children were initially diagnosed with idiopathic PAH and 2 with PAH in association with congenital heart defects. Germ-line mutations were observed in 4 patients (22%) (age at disease onset, 1 month to 6 years), all of whom presented with idiopathic PAH. The BMPR2 mutations (n=2, 11%) included a partial gene deletion and a nonsense mutation, both arising de novo in the proband. Importantly, a missense mutation of ALK-1 and a branch-site mutation of endoglin were also detected. Presenting clinical features or progression of pulmonary hypertension did not distinguish between patients with mutations in the different genes or between those without mutations.

CONCLUSIONS
The cause of PAH presenting in childhood is heterogeneous in nature, with genetic defects of transforming growth factor-beta receptors playing a critical role.


To the Editor. — Branhamella catarrhalis , a gram-negative diplococcus, is generally considered to be nonpathogenic. To date, only ten cases of keratitis caused by this organism have been reported. 1,2 All of these infections proved to be sensitive to penicillin or a first-generation cephalosporin. Herein we report a case of rapidly progressive B catarrhalis keratitis that was resistant to both penicillin and a first-generation and two third-generation cephalosporins. Report of a Case. —A 46-year-old debilitated man with a history of chronic alcoholism presented with a six-day history of pain and decreased vision in the right eye. Examination disclosed best corrected visual acuities of light perception in the right eye and 20/30 OS. A bilateral blepharitis was noted. Slit-lamp biomicroscopic examination of the right cornea demonstrated a 4 × 5-mm inferonasal epithelial defect with an underlying stromal infiltrate. No hypopyon was present. The intraocular pressure in the right eye was 28


ABSTRACT Research Findings: This study examined the characteristics of mothers' and fathers' scaffoldings that facilitate Chinese children's initiative-taking in different types of problem-solving activities. A sample of 96 Chinese children together with their mothers and fathers participated in this study. All children completed a worksheet, a game, and an application activity with their mothers and fathers separately. The process of parent–child interactions was videotaped. For each parent–child dyadic activity, the parent's scaffolding behaviors were coded in terms of cognitive, emotional, and autonomy support. Occurrences of children's self-starting, metacognition, and persistence behaviors were considered instances of the children's initiative. Results indicated that children exhibited more initiative in the game and application activities than in the worksheet activity. More initiative was also observed among children in father–child interactions than in mother–child interactions. Only mothers' emotional support positively predicted children's initiative in the mother–child application activity. Notably, fathers' cognitive and autonomy support in worksheet activity, autonomy support in game activity and cognitive support in application activity significantly predicted children's initiative in corresponding activities. Practice or Policy: This study enriches the evidence on the important roles that mothers and fathers play in child initiative-taking and has the potential to promote programs for improving quality parenting.


Fiscal federalism theory seeks to establish the optimal organization of a government, confined by certain geographic boundaries. The implications of that theory for the monetary unification process are shortly inquired. The literature measuring the redistribution and stabilization effects of the tax and transfer systems in different monetary unions is surveyed. The prospects of evolution to integration models with a federalist countenance are briefly analysed and it is given special attention to the projects of creation of a European Fiscal Transfers Scheme. That mechanism would provide the European economies with some degree of stabilization in substitution for the loss of the adjustment mechanisms. However, after analysing the different proposals for the creation of such mechanism we conclude that, given the shocks persistence, they easily become redistribution mechanisms.


This paper deals with the review of vehicle hydroplaning. The physics of hydroplaning, factors influencing hydroplaning and effective methods for preventing hydroplaning have been discussed. Tire tread pattern and pavement grooving are the widely used methods to curb hydroplaning. The paper discusses the work carried out by researchers on studying the effectiveness of both methods. A systematic comparison of the two methods has been presented and the advantage of each has been outlined. Computational methods for simulating hydroplaning tests have also been discussed. Future scope in hydroplaning research involving mapped terrain-treaded tire interactions, improved fluid structure interaction formulations and intelligent tire systems have also been discussed.


Upward directional transient solidification experiments have been carried out with an Al-1.0wt%Fe alloy. Tensile tests were carried out with samples collected along the casting length and these results have been correlated with measured cell spacings, since cellular growth has prevailed along the directionally solidified casting. The resulting mechanical properties include ultimate tensile strength, yield tensile strength and elongation. The used casting assembly was designed in such a way that the heat was extracted only through the water-cooled system at bottom of the casting. During non-equilibrium solidification, typical of DC (direct chill) castings, different cooling rates occur from the casting cooled surface up to the top of the casting, causing the formation of metastable intermetallic phases (AlmFe, Al6Fe, etc) in addition to the stable Al3Fe phase. The extensive presence of plate-like Al3Fe phase in the as-cast structure adversely influences the mechanical properties of Al-Fe alloys, since this morphology is more likely to induce microcracks than the fibrous Al6Fe phase. In order to permit an appropriate characterization of these intermetallic phases, they were extracted from the aluminum-rich matrix by using a dissolution technique. These phases were then investigated by optical microscopy and SEM techniques. It was found that the ultimate tensile strength, the yield strength and the elongation increase with decreasing cell spacing and experimental laws correlating cell spacing and these mechanical properties have been established.


Fan, L., Yu, C., Fang, C., Zhang, M., Ranieri, M., Dubé, C. and Khanizadeh, S. 2011. The effect of three production systems on the postharvest quality and phytochemical composition of Orléans strawberry. Can. J. Plant Sci. 91: 403-409. The effects of two production systems, plastic mulch (PM) and plastic mulch with row covers (PMRC) versus the commonly used matted-row system (MRS) on postharvest fruit quality, including shelf life, fruit weight loss and juice leakage, fruit glossiness, postharvest disease caused by grey mould (Botrytis cinerea Pers.), and chemical composition of Orléans strawberry were evaluated during 2008 and 2009. Plastic mulch with row covers accelerated fruit maturity by 7 to 10 d and produced larger fruits compared with the MRS. Production systems significantly changed the total phenolic content (TPC) and total antioxidant content (TAC), but the effect varied during the harvest season. Total phenolic content was significantly higher for PMRC than MRS and PM at early harvest, but the effect was similar to PM at mid and late harvest. Total antioxidant content was significantly higher for PMRC compared with MRS and PM at all stages of fruit production, especially at late harvest. Fruit weight loss and juice leakage and the presence of grey mould during storage were lower and fruit glossiness was higher for those harvested under PMRC compared with those from MRS. No significant differences were observed for firmness, pH, titratable acidity (TA) and soluble solids content (SSC) between the three production systems. Titratable acidity and SSC of PMRC were slightly higher than those from MRS and PM, but the differences were not significant. It seems that PMRC not only accelerates ripening, but also has a significant effect on pre- and postharvest fruit quality and chemical composition of the harvested fruits.


In interactive sequential decision-making systems, the learning agent needs to react to new information both in the short term and in the long term, and learn to generalize through repeated interactions with the environment. Unlike in offline learning environments, the new data that arrives is typically a function of previous actions taken by the agent. One of the key challenges is to efficiently use and generalize from data that may never reappear. Furthermore, in many real-world applications, the agent only receives partial feedback on the decisions it makes. This necessitates a balanced explorationexploitation approach, where the agent needs to both efficiently collect relevant information in order to prepare for future arrivals of feedback, and produce the desired outcome in the current periods by exploiting the already collected information. In this thesis, we focus on two classes of fundamental sequential learning problems: Contextual bandits with combinatorial actions and user choice (Chapter 2 and Chapter 3): We investigate the dynamic assortment selection problem by combining statistical estimation of choice models and generalization using contextual information. For this problem, we design and analyze both UCB and Thomson sampling algorithms with rigorous performance guarantees and tractability. High-dimensional contextual bandits (Chapter 4): We investigate policies that can efficiently exploit the structure in high-dimensional data, e.g., sparsity. We design and analyze an efficient sparse contextual bandit algorithm that does not require to know the sparsity of the underlying parameter – information that essentially all existing sparse bandit algorithms to date require.


Abstract:  Changing adolescents' sun protection behaviors remains a challenge, and the need for effective interventions targeting this group is a priority, particularly in warmer climates where emphasis on appropriate sun protection remains a year‐round concern. However, there has been little prospective research on the effect of school‐based sun protection interventions, particularly on adolescents, especially teens aged 15 to 18. High school science students in Palm Beach County, Florida, received a seven‐lesson sun protection and early detection curriculum preceded by pretests and followed with post‐tests 6 months later. The main outcome measures were student knowledge and sun protection practices, including adherence to sunscreen recommendations. Of 344 students completing the baseline surveys, 184 students completed the postintervention questionnaire. Overall, there were significant improvements from baseline to follow‐up for many of the knowledge questions. Greatest change scores were seen in the children's ability to correctly define the five rules of early detection of skin cancer (27–60%, p < 0.001) with improved change scores by gender and race persisting after 6 months. No significant differences were found in reported use of sunscreen, hat wearing, or sunglasses, although there was a slight decrease in the reported use of always wearing sun protective clothing (p = 0.03). In conclusion, in this study, a skin cancer prevention and detection curriculum integrated into high school biology, resulted in knowledge gains maintained at least 6 months after classroom teaching. For example, procedural knowledge (e.g., knowing ways to identify early malignant moles) obtained in this study improved in 6 months, and may lay the foundation for future behavioral change. Sun protection activities in the United States have met with many challenges and obstacles and thus, further work is needed to better understand what combination of knowledge‐based information, activity‐based education, school‐wide changes, and community efforts, will create a long‐term systemic improvement in sun protection habits in children.


We have investigated the relation between the Josephson current and the thickness of Nb middle layer of double Josephson junction. The characteristic of the sample is somewhat different even though the sample is made on the same condition. So we have changed only the thickness of Nb middle layer of the double Josephson junction on the same substrate with the shutter between the sample and the target. We fabricated the double Josephson junction completely on the same condition except for thickness of Nb middle layer. Josephson current has increased as Nb middle layer is thin. However, no Josephson current was observed without Nb middle layer.


Background:Research into traumatic brain injury (TBI) has increased significantly. Diagnostic testing and therapeutics for patients with severe TBI are 2 areas on which there is increasing focus. Amantadine hydrochloride is one treatment considered to have potential therapeutic value in this patient population. Objective:The objective was addressed through the development of a structured critically appraised topic. This included a clinical scenario, structured question, literature search strategy, critical appraisal, results, evidence summary, commentary, and bottom-line conclusions. Participants included consultant and resident neurologists, a medical librarian, clinical epidemiologists, and content experts in the disciplines of neurocritical care and physical medicine and rehabilitation. Results:A multicenter, placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized controlled trial was selected for review. The trial compared the rate of recovery, as determined by the overall Disability Rating Scale score, in a total of 184 patients with severe TBI. Patients were randomized to either receive amantadine (87) or visually identical placebo (97) over the 4-week study interval. The rate of recovery, as measured by the Disability Rating Scale, was found to be greater in the treatment arm as compared with the placebo arm (difference in slope −0.24 points/wk, P=0.007) over the 4-week treatment interval. Conclusions:The results from this study demonstrated that amantadine hydrochloride accelerates recovery in patients with severe TBI.


Obesity is usually
considered as an overweight or excess body fat, leading to increased health
problems. Obesity is a major risk factor for a number of serious diseases.
Decreasing dietary fat absorption, through inhibition of pancreatic lipase
activity, has been reported to be one of the most effective ways for managing
obesity. The present study was aimed at investigating lipase inhibitors from
edible plants. A lipase inhibitor was isolated from n-hexane and ethyl
acetate extracts of
the ripe fruits of Solanum stramonifolium Jacq. by column chromatography
and identified by spectral analysis. Its structure was elucidated as (22R)-3β-benzoyloxy-22-hydroxy-4α-methyl-5α-stigmast-7-en-6-one or carpesterol (1). Carpesterol
exhibited moderate lipase inhibition activity with IC50 value of
56.0 μg/mL while orlistat, a well- know pancreatic lipase inhibitor, had IC50 value of 3.5 ng/mL.
Moreover, the kinetic properties of carpesterol on pancreatic lipase were evaluated.
Carpesterol is a competitive inhibitor and exhibited antagonistic interaction
when combined with
orlistat on lipase inhibition activity.


GENETIC STRUCTURE AND PHYLOGEOGRAPHY OF THE FOX SQUIRREL, SCIURUS NIGER, AS INFERRED FROM A MITOCHONDRIAL GENE Katherine L. Bryant, M.S. George Mason University, 2007 Thesis Director: Dr. Cody W. Edwards Sciurus niger (Rodentia: Sciuridae) is a large tree squirrel which inhabits the southeastern portion of North America. Currently there are ten recognized subspecies which are distinguished based on differences in morphology and ecology. While molecular work has been undertaken for a few subspecies of S. niger, the patterns of genetic differentiation of the entire species have yet to be examined. This study attempts to characterize the genetic structure of S. niger in order to help determine the validity of current subspecies designations and offer insight into the post-glacial colonization patterns of the species. A 296 base pair fragment of the mitochondrial control region (dloop) was sequenced from 55 specimens of S. n. vulpinus, 13 samples of S. n. niger, and 13 samples of S. n. rufiventer. Fifteen previously reported haplotypes (Lance et al. 2003) representing S. n. cinereus, S. n. rufiventer, and S. n. vulpinus were incorporated into the analysis. Additionally, a data set of 89 sequences generated at the Van Den Bussche Laboratory of Molecular Systematics and Conservation Genetics were added to this data set. These sequences included representatives of the following 8 subspecies: S. n. bachmani, S. n. cinereus, S. n. limitis, S. n. ludovicianus, S. n. niger, S. n. rufiventer, S. n. subauratus, and S. n. vulpinus. The compiled data set of 258 individuals belonging to 8 subspecies yielded 125 unique haplotypes, indicating extremely high levels of diversity in the control region. Several tree-based methods recovered two distinct shallow clades which do not correspond to geographic regions or subspecies. A parsimony-based minimum spanning network revealed two haplotype clusters which correspond to the two clades found in the tree-based methods. The haplotypes are closely linked in a starshaped phylogenetic network; several of the most frequent haplotypes were internal, while the majority were unique to single populations and presented distal positions in the network. Overall there was a lack of genetic structure amongst populations with most of the variance explained by within population genetic diversity. Despite poor branch support, the congruent recovery of the two S. niger clades via both clustering-based and optimality criterion-based methods supports the separation of haplotypes into two major haplogroups. These results indicate that the currently recognized subspecies based on alpha taxonomic characters are not concordant with the mitochondrial history of S. niger. Instead, my findings suggest that the control region haplotype distribution in fox squirrels may be the result of repeated and rapid habitat expansions/retractions during glacial events in the Pleistocene. The shallow divergence between haplotypes across wide geographic distances suggest that the patterns of morphological and ecological differentiation the we observe within S. niger may have occurred much more recently than previously thought.


Civil War on Race Street, so named because Race Street was the road that divided blacks and whites in Cambridge, Maryland, is a detailed examination of one of the most vibrant locally based struggles for racial equality during the 1960s. Beginning with an overview of Cambridge, particularly its history of racial and class relations, Peter Levy traces the emergence of the modern civil rights movement in this city on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Catalyzed by the arrival of freedom riders in 1962, the movement in Cambridge expanded in 1963 and 1964 under the leadership of Gloria Richardson, one of the most prominent (and one of the few female) civil rights leaders in the nation. In the years after her departure from Cambridge, the movement went into decline until 1967, when it underwent a brief revival that culminated with a riot allegedly incited by black power spokesman H. Rap Brown. In the wake of the riot, blacks and whites in Cambridge sought to rebuild their city and return to a politics of moderation. However, Spiro Agnew, then governor of Maryland, used the riot to advance his political career and the fortunes of the New Right, thereby garnering the attention of the public (as well as Richard Nixon) and achieving the vice-presidency in 1968. At the same time, H. Rap Brown saw his influence and that of the civil rights movement decline.


From 1780 to 1783, Peru and Bolivia were embroiled in a bloody revolution against colonial Spain. Spanning from well north of Cuzco to provinces south of Lake Titicaca, the Great Rebellion was the most serious threat to Spanish power in the region between conquest and independence. Its two primary leaders were TUpac Amaru, an indigenous noble and wealthy trader who fought in Peru, and Tapac Katari, an illiterate peasant who led an army against La Paz. The rebellion, however, was highly decentralized and ideologically inconsistent. Of the various ideologies present during the revolt, two emerged as the most widespread and influential. The first was that of the Europeanized indigenous nobility and upper class, as well as the creole and wealthy mestizos. These groups generally fought to end exploitative colonial practices and revoke newly implemented laws and taxes that they saw as directly threatening their economic and political power. The second ideological strand was that of the indigenous peasantry. This group was far more radical and fought for the total eradication of all vestiges of Europeans and European culture and a near total return to pre-Columbian culture and power structure. These two groups, though each interested in expelling the colonial Spaniards from the continent, were otherwise fighting for distinctly incongruous and opposed ends. This irreconcilability eventually became manifest in direct, violent confrontation as the revolution against Spain turned into a civil war between the Europeanized upper class and the radical indigenous peasantry. This transformation and subsequent political failure to maintain insurrectionary unity made military success impossible for either ideological strand, resulting in the failure of the Great Rebellion.


Abstract Predictions of added resistance and the effective power of ships were made for varying barnacle fouling conditions. A series of towing tests was carried out using flat plates covered with artificial barnacles. The tests were designed to allow the examination of the effects of barnacle height and percentage coverage on the resistance and effective power of ships. The drag coefficients and roughness function values were evaluated for the flat plates. The roughness effects of the fouling conditions on the ships' frictional resistances were predicted. Added resistance diagrams were then plotted using these predictions, and powering penalties for these ships were calculated using the diagrams generated. The results indicate that the effect of barnacle size is significant, since a 10% coverage of barnacles each 5 mm in height caused a similar level of added power requirements to a 50% coverage of barnacles each 1.25 mm in height.


Imaging tests are commonly used as an initial or early investigation for patients presenting with suspected acute gastrointestinal bleeding (AGIB). However, controversy remains regarding which of two frequently used modalities, computed tomography angiography (CTA) or technetium-99m labelled red blood cell scintigraphy (RBCS), is most accurate. This systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to compare the accuracy of CTA and RBCS for the detection and localization of AGIB. Five electronic databases were searched with additional manual searching of reference lists of relevant publications identified during the search. Two reviewers independently performed screening, data extraction and methodological assessments. Where appropriate, the bivariate model was used for meta-analysis of sensitivities and specificities for the detection of bleeding and Freeman-Tukey double-arcsine transformation used for meta-analysis of proportions of correctly localized bleeding sites. Forty-four unique primary studies were included: twenty-two investigating CTA, seventeen investigating RBCS and five investigating both modalities. Meta-analysis produced similar pooled sensitivities; 0.83 (95% CI 0.74-0.90) and 0.84 (0.68-0.92) for CTA and RBCS respectively. Pooled specificity for CTA was higher than RBCS; 0.90 (0.72-0.97) and 0.84 (0.71-0.91) respectively. However, differences were not statistically significant. CTA was superior to RBCS in correctly localizing bleeding; pooled proportions of 1.00 (0.98-1.00) and 0.90 (0.83-0.96) respectively (statistically significant difference, P < 0.001). There is no evidence that CTA and RBCS have different diagnostic performance with respect to the detection of AGIB. However, CTA is superior to RBCS in terms of correctly localising the bleeding site, supporting usage of CTA over RBCS as the first line imaging investigation.


Abstract Blunt traumatic diaphragmatic rupture (BTDR) is uncommon, but is associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to present our experience with management of this injury. Medical records of 38 patients with BTDR who were treated in our hospital from January 2001 to June 2016 were analyzed retrospectively. The sex, age, cause of injury, location of rupture, mode of diagnosis, time to diagnosis, the presence of herniation and bowel perforation, the presence of preoperative shock and intubation, Injury Severity Score (ISS), associated injuries, comorbidity, the operative procedure, morbidity and mortality, and the predictive factors affecting the outcome of BTDR were evaluated. There were 32 men (84.2%) and 6 women (15.8%) with a mean age of 51.2 years (range 18–84 years). The diagnosis could be preoperatively established in 28 patients (73.7%) with a plain chest X-ray or computed tomography scan. Rupture of diaphragm was left-sided in 31 patients (81.6%), right-sided in 6 (15.8%), and bilateral in 1 (2.6%). Sixteen patients had preoperative shock (systolic blood pressure <90 mm Hg, heart rate >120/min). Initial operative approaches were laparotomy in 22 patients (57.9%) and thoracotomy in 16 (42.1%). Eleven required additional exploration. The rate of additional exploration was higher in patients who initially underwent thoracotomy than laparotomy (56.2% vs 9.1%, P = .003). Patients who underwent additional exploration had a significantly longer operation time (330 minutes vs 237.5 minutes, P = .012), and a significantly higher morbidity rate (72.7% vs 22.2%, P =.008). Overall mortality was observed in 6 patients (15.8%). The mortality was associated with right-sided TDR (P = .042) and preoperative shock (P = .003). Neither ISS nor delay in diagnosis posed a statistically significant risk to the outcome of patients. Intra-abdominal organ injuries are more common than intrathoracic injuries in patients with BTDR, indicating that laparotomy should be the initial approach in these patients. Preoperative shock and right-sided TDR are predictive of mortality after BTDR.


In the present work, the combination of the electrophoretic deposition of ZnO nanostructures with size not exceeding 50 nm, and the reduced graphene oxide (rGO) on gold electrodes was performed to study the non-enzymatic electrochemical detection of glucose. The effect of insulin insertion on glucose detection and regulation was studied and the electrochemical responses were compared with and without this molecule. The results showed that the GO/insulin/ZnO electrode is much more sensitive for the glucose detection, in addition to its ability to drop the insulin protein hormone under a negative voltage. That bears interest as dual function sensor for detection and regulation of glucose.


Successful organ transplantation often is limited by infection. The early transplant period is predominated by bacterial and fungal infections related to surgery and neutropenia, whereas opportunistic infections occur later due to long-term immunosuppression therapy. Despite technical differences between various types of organ transplants, the diagnostic approaches to lung disease are similar and rely largely on fiberoptic bronchoscopy. Whereas better antibacterial prophylaxis is available, fungal infections are emerging as significant problems. Lipid suspension formulations of amphotericin B and itraconazole offer new treatment options for fungal pulmonary infection. These formulations appear to have improved pharmacologic safety, but relative efficacy is unclear. Cytomegalovirus infections continue to plague transplant recipients. Improved understanding of the risk factors (especially the role of screened blood products) and improved prophylactic strategies with ganciclovir and immunoglobulin are decreasing the incidence of fatal infection. Surveillance for viremia and antigenemia now permit early identification of patients at significant risk for clinical disease, and responses to prompt administration of ganciclovir are encouraging, especially among solid organ recipients.


Abstract Objectives Patients hospitalized because of community-acquired-pneumonia (CAP) are at risk of cardiovascular diseases. Although plasma procoagulant imbalance play a role, mechanisms are not completely understood. We aimed to investigate whether there is a measurable state of procoagulant imbalance following inflammation determined by CAP. Methods We analyzed blood from 51 CAP patients at admission and 51 healthy subjects (HS) for (i) pro and anticoagulants, (ii) thrombin generation (TG) with or without thrombomodulin (TM), which is the physiologic activator of the protein C anticoagulant pathway and(iii) by assessing the ratio between von Willebrand-factor (VWF) and its protease ADAMTS13. Thirty patients were re-analyzed one month after discharge when CAP was resolved. Results Median levels of TG parameters, including the endogenous thrombin potential (ETP), the ETP-TM-ratio (with/without TM), peak-thrombin and velocity index were higher in patients at baseline than HS. In particular, the median (IQR) ETP-TM-ratio in patients vs. HS was 0.88 (0.83–0.91) vs. 0.63 (0.48–0.71), p<0.001. Factor (F)VIII, a potent procoagulant involved in TG was higher in patients at baseline than HS [195 U/dL (100–388) vs. 127(108–145)], p<0.001]. The ratio of VWF/ADAMTS13 was higher at baseline than HS. Cumulatively, the findings indicate a state of pro-coagulant imbalance, which (although reduced), remained high [i.e., ETP-TM-ratio, 0.80 (0.74–0.84); FVIII, 152 U/dL (122–190)] one month after discharge when the infection was resolved. Conclusions Patients with CAP possess a state of pro-coagulant imbalance, which remains substantially high, even when the infection is resolved. The findings suggest CAP patients as candidates for antithrombotic prophylaxis even after the resolution of infection. Clinical trials are warranted to assess the benefit/risk ratio of prophylaxis extension.


ABSTRACT Time evolution of water surface oscillations in surge tanks is of importance in pipeline and hydropower engineering, and is often solved graphically or numerically because the associated nonlinear second order ordinary differential equation, with a quadratic damping term, cannot be solved exactly. This research then innovates an accurate approximation based on the Lambert function, Padé approximant, and elliptic integral. Specifically, (i) the characteristic length depends on the pipe-tank geometry, the system resistance, and an unsteady factor; and the characteristic time depends on the pipe-tank geometry, the gravity, and the unsteady factor, but independent of the system resistance; (ii) the surge transit squared velocity is approximated by a Padé approximant of order [2/1], resulting in a simple approximation for the surge tank water surface oscillations in terms of an elliptic integral of the second kind; and (iii) the approximate solution accurately reproduces numerical and laboratory data thereby being applicable in practice.


The aim of this study was to identify subgroups of serious juvenile offenders on the basis of their risk profiles, using a data-driven approach. The sample consists of 1,147 of the top 5% most serious juvenile offenders in the Netherlands. A part of the sample, 728 juvenile offenders who had been released from the institution for at least 2 years, was included in analyses on recidivism and the prediction of recidivism. Six subgroups of serious juvenile offenders were identified with cluster analysis on the basis of their scores on 70 static and dynamic risk factors: Cluster 1, antisocial identity; Cluster 2, frequent offenders; Cluster 3, flat profile; Cluster 4, sexual problems and weak social identity; Cluster 5, sexual problems; and Cluster 6, problematic family background. Clusters 4 and 5 are the most serious offenders before treatment, committing mainly sex offences. However, they have significantly lower rates of recidivism than the other four groups. For each of the six clusters, a unique set of risk factors was found to predict severity of recidivism. The results suggest that intervention should aim at different risk factors for each subgroup.


The MEMS gyroscope used in Spinning Projectiles is a single-chip and axis gyroscope drive by high-speed rotary of Spinning Projectiles. To analysis this theory, a corresponding mathematical module was established based on the structural principle of the gyroscope and the Kinetic parameters included in the mathematical module was analyzed and calculation. By calculation, the paper had drawn the curve between the displacement of mass and the input angular velocity. By using ANSYS software the vibration mode and harmonic response have been done, after comparing the results of imitation and calculation, it is found that the difference is little, so the theory based on the displacement of mass is correct.


Following environmental pollution exposure, calls to screen the population for disease or disease markers are often made. Population screening is a cross-sectional review of a population to find latent cases or biomarkers of disease that indicate the possibility of disease development; it differs from environmental screening or an epidemiological survey. Recognized standard approaches have been developed over 60 years to ensure quality and effectiveness in complex programs. We surveyed the literature for papers on health screening following environmental exposures and checked them for reference to accepted criteria such as those of Wilson and Jungner. We applied these criteria to three situations covering source/hazard (arsenic contaminated land), pathway/exposure (radiation release), and receptor/disease (lead poisoning). We identified 36 relevant papers. Although across the papers the whole range of criteria were addressed, no paper or program utilized recognized criteria. Issues and gaps identified included limited strategic approaches, lack of treatment, environmental prevention being seen as the screening outcome instead of treatment of identified individuals, and programs which did not fit the World Health Organization screening description. Robust discussion in the literature is needed to consider the organization and role of health screening following environmental exposures.


This paper employs a novel multi-level data set and a multinomial logit model - to examine the factors explaining 1,223 foreign investment location decisions by firms in the EU(15), Japan, Norway, Russia, Switzerland and the US in 12 Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs). The highly significant empirical results, based on a general underlying model of imperfect competition, show that the responsiveness of foreign direct investment in the CEECs to country-level variables differs significantly both across sectors and across firms of different sizes and profitability. In particular, in addition to the traditional importance of market size and distance, firm size and the effective corporate tax rate are also important for the location of investment.


Pemphigus refers to a group of autoimmune blistering skin diseases, mainly identified as pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus, both characterized by the presence of autoantibodies against keratinocyte adhesion molecules, leading to loss of cell-cell adhesion with consequent blister formation. Pemphigus vulgaris is reported to be associated with human leukocyte antigen DR4 and/or DR6 whereas no data are available on pemphigus foliaceus, except for the endemic Brazilian form (fogo selvagem), which is reported to be associated with DR1 and DR4. We here report human leukocyte antigen molecular typing on a total of 87 patients, 61 with pemphigus vulgaris and 26 with pemphigus foliaceus, versus 128 healthy matched controls. Generic typing showed an increase of DRB1*04 and DRB1*14 and a decrease of DRB1*07 in both pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus patients. Molecular subtyping of DR4+ and DR14+ subjects showed a highly significant association between the DRB1*1401 and both pemphigus vulgaris (p < 0.0001) and pemphigus foliaceus patients (p < 0.0001) together with a significant increase of the linked DQB1*0503 (pemphigus vulgaris p < 0.0001; pemphigus foliaceus p < 0.0001). Moreover, whereas the association between DRB1*0402 and pemphigus vulgaris (p < 0.0001) has been confirmed, no significant association between a specific allele of the DR4 group and pemphigus foliaceus, has been found. Therefore, at least in Italian patients, pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus share DRB1*1401 and DQB1*0503, as susceptible human leukocyte antigen alleles, whereas DRB1*0402 is only found associated with pemphigus vulgaris. The observation that both diseases, pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus, carry the same susceptible human leukocyte antigen alleles has been interpreted as a common genetic background predisposing to pemphigus as, like in other autoimmune disorders, it is not sufficient to explain the onset of the disease on the basis of the sole aforementioned alleles. Other linked genes and/or environmental factors should play a facilitating role in the outbreak of pemphigus, either pemphigus vulgaris or pemphigus foliaceus.


SUMMARY Despite the overlapping distribution of Schistosoma haematobium and Plasmodium falciparum infections, few studies have investigated early immune responses to both parasites in young children resident in areas co-endemic for the parasites. This study measures infection levels of both parasites and relates them to exposure and immune responses in young children. Levels of IgM, IgE, IgG4 directed against schistosome cercariae, egg and adult worm and IgM, IgG directed against P. falciparum schizonts and the merozoite surface proteins 1 and 2 together with the cytokines IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10 and TNF-α were measured by ELISA in 95 Zimbabwean children aged 1–5 years. Schistosome infection prevalence was 14·7% and that of Plasmodium infection was 0% in the children. 43. 4% of the children showed immunological evidence of exposure to schistosome parasites and 13% showed immunological evidence of exposure to Plasmodium parasites. Schistosome–specific responses, indicative of exposure to parasite antigens, were positively associated with cercariae-specific IgE responses, while Plasmodium-specific responses, indicative of exposure to parasite antigens, were negatively associated with responses associated with protective immunity against Plasmodium. There was no significant association between schistosome-specific and Plasmodium-specific responses. Systemic cytokine levels rose with age as well as with schistosome infection and exposure. Overall the results show that (1) significantly more children are exposed to schistosome and Plasmodium infection than those currently infected and; (2) the development of protective acquired immunity commences in early childhood, although its effects on infection levels and pathology may take many years to become apparent.


Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors such as single- and few-layer molybdenum disulphide(MoS2) are promising building blocks for prospect flexible, transparent and low power electronics. Due to an electronic bandgap of the order of  1.8 eV and atomic-scale tenuity of 6.5 A, field-effect transistors (FETs) based on single-layer MoS2 exhibit high current Ion/Ioff-ratios and low power dissipation. Encapsulating single-layerMoS2 within a dielectric layer protects it from exposure to ambient air and improves device performance. By investigating the performance limits of such devices we demonstrate that they can reproducibly sustain several 100 µA/µm, saturate at high bias and exhibit break down current densities 50× larger than Cu. In addition, we investigate high-frequency operation of high-performance MoS2 FETs based on one- to few-layers. They exhibit current-, power- and voltage-gain in the GHz-range. Improving our understanding of contacts formed between metals and 2D semiconductors is important for the advancement of this technology because Schottky barriers impede device performances. The common assumption when modeling these contacts is that the thermionic emission model for a three-dimensional system is valid also in 2D. Here, we show that the understanding of 2D semiconductor/metal junctions can be improved by considering imageforce barrier-lowering and neglecting band bending at the interface. With this modifications, we can reproduce the output characteristics of 2D MoS2 FETs with excellent accuracy. The model is applicable over the whole range of investigated parameters such as temperature, doping and applied bias. While single-layer MoS2 attracted interest due to its broken inversion symmetry and spin/valley coupling, few-layer MoS2 is considered a more viable option for technological applications where its higher mobility and lower contact resistance offer an advantage. However, so far it remains unclear whether few-layers are intrinsically superior or if the difference is due to environmental effects. Here, we provide a systematic comparison of the field-effect mobility in single-, double- and trilayer MoS2 after thorough in-situ annealing. It shows that a single-layer exhibits the highest mobilities, while it is most sensitive to ambient air. In conclusion, this thesis offers important contributions towards the understanding of the performance limits, Schottky barrier height and field-effect mobility in encapsulated and bare 2D MoS2. The presented results support the feasibility of novel flexible, transparent and low power electronics based on this material.